"WOW, I REALLY MISSED A LOT."

Tony laughed softly around his coffee mug as he let Rhodey digest all the news. The man was back in town, so Tony decided that it was time he shook things up a little, go out to other places besides the new facility, Nicky's building, and the Walsh residence.

So he went to a little coffee shop Steve recommended to him, and he had to admit, it was just hipster enough that no one would be able to recognize him.

"I didn't think you'd remember someone that far back," was what Rhodey started with, but he followed immediately with a light nudge of his foot to let him know that he was only joking.

Tony laughed softly, shaking his head. "Yeah, I'm surprised, too, but what can I say, I'm a genius."

Rhodey rolled his eyes fondly at that, smiling and taking a sip of his coffee. Tony tried not to notice the way he sighed as he shifted in his seat, nor the cane that the man still had to use to get around sometimes, because things were starting to get better.

"You talk to Sam recently?" he asked instead, because no matter what the two men thought, he knew that they had often got together to complain about him and Steve.

Rhodey pursed his lips. "Tony, you know that it's not a good idea to talk about what you did with me, this isn't legal." After a beat, he added, "I dropped by his apartment real quick to make sure that he was okay, we've been getting a lot of heat about him just disappearing. A decorated veteran, what was Ross thinking?"

"I sometimes forget he knows how," Tony mumbled before clearing his throat, glancing around, "Anyways, in the interest of keeping us alive, let's change the subject. How exciting was Mexico?"

Rhodey laughed softly. "It was pretty fun. But we're not that young anymore."

Tony frowned, making a face. "Don't remind me, I'm losing my charm. I passed by some twenty year-olds and one of them said that I reminded her of her dad. So she called him to say hi."

Rhodey winced, clearly hiding his mirth. "That must have been very difficult for you." His tone was laced with mockery and Tony wouldn't even try to claim that he hadn't missed the man being around.

"I might have a son, so maybe this is just preparing me for my future," he groaned, slipping down slightly in his chair and Rhodey gave him a soft smile.

"I'm proud of you for sticking around," he said, "A few years ago, you wouldn't have done something like that. I know, because this did happen before. It's nice to see you trying to connect."

"That time it wasn't even real," he mumbled around his mug, "But thanks, Rhodey. I mean, it might not even be true, but he's a good kid and...I don't know, she was about to cry and she just reminded me of—" he paused, not wanting to go on.

Rhodey's expression turned sympathetic and he nodded solemnly. "It's going to be okay, Tony."

With that, the two descended into a comfortable silence. It wasn't awkward by any means, but rather the two just wanted to be quiet for some time, not always needing to fill the silence with noise, though that was a specialty for Tony.

"Tell me about the kid," Rhodey said, after they were sure they were going to be kicked out for loitering, "Because he sounds a lot like you."

Tony scoffed, shaking his head. "Why does everyone say that, he's a child, I'm not."

Rhodey licked his lips, making a whine in the back of throat. "Well..." He laughed when Tony scoffed and threw a bread crumb at him, still ducking away nonetheless, laughing as the man pouted and adjusted his sunglasses.

"He's a good kid, just made a friend recently, so that's nice," Tony said anyways, because even Peter had reported back to him that all Remy seemed to talk about was his cool best friend and how basketball was finally interesting to him.

Rhodey smiled and tilted his head. "I wish I took a picture of you when you talked about him, you should see your smile."

Tony mumbled something unintelligible around the rim of his cup and Rhodey just chuckled. It was nice to see the man in front of him now, see how he had changed, what he had become, it filled him with a kind of joy he couldn't quite place.

"You're moving back in the facility?" Tony asked once they left the cafe and just started to walk around, hugging their jackets close to keep warm.

The man nodded slowly. "Most likely. Someone needs to stick around to keep your head on straight." His quip fell flat, the weight of what had happened a few months ago still somewhat fresh, and the situation had changed their dynamic, only slightly, but still enough to be noticeable.

"I'm heading home for Thanksgiving, though," he said carefully, and Tony instantly knew why he was, "You're always welcome if you want to come with."

Tony shook his head. "No, I'll figure something out..." that offer had never been posed to him, because for the longest time, he'd had Pepper to spend Thanksgiving with.

And if not Pepper, Peggy Carter. He had grown up with her, she was like another mother to him. With her gone, he was more alone than he ever wanted to be.

"Where does the kid go to school?" Rhodey asked, because it was still such a shocking concept to him that Tony would try to be a father figure to someone; he might not be a great one, but he was trying.

"We're gonna pass by it, might as well check and see if he's there," Tony said, "Maybe even swing by the other kid's school, throw him some brownie points with the whole Stark Internship ruse."

"Another kid," Rhodey parroted, wide eyed, before remembering, "Oh, that kid. Look at you, going from no kids to two kids, I did miss a lot."

Tony just smiled and shook his head, the two making their way to the elementary school and talking about life and what other things they had been up to, Rhodey trying to tell him about what General Ross was doing and the other man just rolling his eyes and pretending like he had no idea who the man was, which made Rhodey laugh. Tony told him about his going to therapy and didn't know how to react when Rhodey hugged him, talking about how happy he was that Tony was finally getting help.

"I heard that was how Steve reacted, I don't know what you're all trying to say," the man said, narrowing his eyes; while he did have some inkling, he didn't want to acknowledge it then and there.

"You talking to him now?" Rhodey asked, and Tony thought back to the text messages they would send and how he had still been finally able to convince him to get a better phone.

"We're trying," he replied, and that was that.

It was a surprise to find that, when the two men passed by the school, it was lunchtime recess for the kids. While they couldn't go inside the school without needing to check in, they could keep an eye on Remy, whom they saw playing on the edge of the grass with Marc.

"He looks just like you," Rhodey gasped and Tony rolled his eyes, "I want to meet him, I bet he talks just like you."

"Should I be concerned?" Tony asked, and the man scoffed.

"I've always wanted to be the uncle to your children, this is as close as I'm going to get for a while. I need to take him to amusement parks and buy him ice cream," Rhodey said, and he was smiling so brightly that he couldn't help but do the same. It was interesting how easily Remy had won over the man without even having to meet him.

"Oh no..." the man said, bringing Tony's attention back towards Remy, and he had never felt such a raw spike of anger since a few months before.

There, on the edge of the grass, was Remy, glaring up at a few older boys with all the fiery nature of a man that Tony was still trying to reconcile with. While small in size, he held himself like he was twenty-feet tall, glaring up at the middle schoolers with his fists clenched at his sides, Marc still sitting on the ground, staring up at them warily, a hand almost ready to pull the boy back if need be.

"I need to do something," Tony said, and Rhodey caught his arm.

"He can handle himself," the man said, and he was so sure that Tony had no choice but to agree.

Continuing to watch, he saw one of the boys push Remy to the ground. He only stayed down for a moment, jumping right back up and punching him in the stomach. While Tony was ready to cheer, he knew what was coming next.

He watched in anger as the other boys immediately pounced, shoving Remy into the dirt, shoving him around before the one who had been punched shoved his face into the rocks and the dirt, Marc shouting at them to stop, but being shoved away.

Just before Remy was going to get punched, the boys were suddenly being pulled away. Opening his eyes at Rhodey's insistence, Tony saw that Ethan was currently throwing rocks and shouting at them to leave. After dodging a punch and kneeing one right in the stomach, they all ran away, glaring behind them.

Tony watched in wonder as Ethan turned around and immediately crouched down, reaching out and cleaning the dirt from a crying Remy's face. Marc was right beside him, using his water bottle and cleaning out the scratches on his bare arms and legs.

"Who's he?" Rhodey asked, jerking his head over to Ethan, and Tony had to wonder himself.

"I think that's his cousin," he said, finally, watching as the older boy lifted Remy in his arms, the three making their way towards what he hoped was the office to get bandaids.

Rhodey hummed. "Seems more than that to me. I don't think I've seen a kid go from blind rage to gentle kindness that fast."

Tony nodded in agreement. "That's real friendship there."

Rhodey smiled, clapping his hand on his shoulder and leading him away. "Yeah. Glad I know what that feels like."

Tony tried not to grin. "Yeah. Me too."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

I was so terrified to write this chapter, you have no idea, I was so scared to actually write Tony and Rhodey's relationship, like I'm more terrified to write Rhodey than I am to write Tony, which is saying something because I'm terrified to write Tony, so please don't hurt me, I tried my best.

At the end of the day, Ethan is going to be the main friend for Remy. Sure, they might not hang out much, but he's really important to Remy and even though Marc is in the picture, it's always going to be Ethan. The boy is really important in the story, so I needed to show that he's still a good boy, he's just a teenager now.

Also, if you've read Past Lives, you'll know that Remy's personality is similar to that of pre-serum (and still now) Steve. He's got that "ready to fight" attitude despite his size (rather, because of his size) so I just wanted to show that

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!